According to The Tennessean that line rings more than 400 times daily. And usually, the caller is put on "hold." The department says that results in as many as 25 percent of them hanging up.

Carla Aaron, who oversees the call center, said any call might have critical information about a child's safety. Over the summer, the department transferred five case managers to the center in Nashville, known as Central Intake. That brought the number of people there to 70.

Technology updates are expected to help, but the center has also been getting about 15 percent more calls over the last two years.